College professors who cancel classes before Thanksgiving - RANT

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:“Scrambling” to find train tickets, driving hours and hours, paying $200+, etc. just so your kid can get home a day or a few hours earlier than planned is really strange to me.

I clearly said "later dates", as in Tuesday, Nov. 20th. Train tickets were purchased a month ago (you have to do that for major holidays just in case you don't know what you are talking about which is readily apparent) for the 20th with a return on the 25th. Well, one, two, three and then FOUR professors cancelled classes this week so suddenly junior is ready to come home on Friday the 16th (because one prof took until the 16th to decide to cancel the class on the 20th). None of this correlates with the university calendar which says last class dates are Tuesday, the 20th. So YES we had previously purchased tickets according to univ. calendar and yes we had to scramble because all of the trains were books for the 16th, 17th, 19th, etc. etc. so we had to eat the previously purchased tickets (nonrefundable) and yes we had to drive down and pick up DC and drive back so we could have a whole week with DC - who ACTUALLY wants to still spend time with his family so was thrilled that classes were cancelled. What about that do you not understand?

Hey PP. I'm with ya (this is OP). My kid likes his family and high school friends, too. It was frustrating to go through the effort to respect the schedule for no apparent reason.

+1. We're with you too. I'm thrilled that that DS wanted to come home five days early and be with us, but everything was settled for him to train back (even buses weren't available back around 6 weeks ago when we booked - Greyhound was booked up so we opted for train). As each professor announced no class for the week of the 18th we thought "great, but what about the ticket for the 20th" and then when the last professor announced, DS was ready to leave on Friday the 16th. And by then nothing was available via bus, train, plane, even friends (most of home drove the minute their own classes were cancelled).

I'm glad you got to spend the time you did, and I hope y'all had fun. My kid arrived home midday on Thursday. It has been wonderful having him around.

Thanks. We did have fun and wound up having him here for almost ten days instead of the four as we had originally expected. Good family time. And now off to the airport to send him back.

Glad to hear it. Alas, we just had Thurs through Sat, and our family who arrived on Wednesday left at the crack of dawn on Friday, so the visit was fun, even if brief. Added treat - the whole high school gang was here on Saturday.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Federal employees literally get off 59 minutes early on long weekends. Wahoo!!!

And my workplace has decided to cut back on this.

My spouse gets these early releases and you know this isn't always true. It's often a lot more time than 59 minutes.

But my point is, cancelling class the day before a holiday is going to be a "benefit" for an overwhelming number of students...and yes, faculty too. It's a perk. It's nice. It's a reward or a gift, so to speak: what the students do with the time is up to them. If it is SO IMPORTANT that the students rush home the second classes end, whenever that is, then just book the kid's travel a day early and let them miss a Tuesday class (that is likely to be cancelled anyway). Most professors understand this and are unfazed by working around it if the students gives notice and is responsible. No reasonable professor would schedule an exam that week, and at most they'd have a turn-in submission due at class time (actually, this is a common way to deal with the cancelled class issue). This is not something to complain about for planning reasons, as your child is the master of his or her own schedule by the time they're in college.

As far as missing work or content: no professor who is halfway decent is going to skip content and put your child in academic jeopardy for a holiday week cancellation. Don't worry - they'll cover photosynthesis, if they haven't already. They're going to strategically catch it up or offer a remote lecture (this is done ALL THE TIME, by the way, for other reasons like presenting at conferences or being sick) or they'll offer a supplemental activity or class.

And you know what? If that professor offers extra office hours or an optional lecture at an alternate time, 85% of the students won't go or sign-up. Doubt me? I'd love to invite you to come sit in on my holiday week office hours with me and see how many students show.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:“Scrambling” to find train tickets, driving hours and hours, paying $200+, etc. just so your kid can get home a day or a few hours earlier than planned is really strange to me.

I clearly said "later dates", as in Tuesday, Nov. 20th. Train tickets were purchased a month ago (you have to do that for major holidays just in case you don't know what you are talking about which is readily apparent) for the 20th with a return on the 25th. Well, one, two, three and then FOUR professors cancelled classes this week so suddenly junior is ready to come home on Friday the 16th (because one prof took until the 16th to decide to cancel the class on the 20th). None of this correlates with the university calendar which says last class dates are Tuesday, the 20th. So YES we had previously purchased tickets according to univ. calendar and yes we had to scramble because all of the trains were books for the 16th, 17th, 19th, etc. etc. so we had to eat the previously purchased tickets (nonrefundable) and yes we had to drive down and pick up DC and drive back so we could have a whole week with DC - who ACTUALLY wants to still spend time with his family so was thrilled that classes were cancelled. What about that do you not understand?

Hey PP. I'm with ya (this is OP). My kid likes his family and high school friends, too. It was frustrating to go through the effort to respect the schedule for no apparent reason.

+1. We're with you too. I'm thrilled that that DS wanted to come home five days early and be with us, but everything was settled for him to train back (even buses weren't available back around 6 weeks ago when we booked - Greyhound was booked up so we opted for train). As each professor announced no class for the week of the 18th we thought "great, but what about the ticket for the 20th" and then when the last professor announced, DS was ready to leave on Friday the 16th. And by then nothing was available via bus, train, plane, even friends (most of home drove the minute their own classes were cancelled).

I'm glad you got to spend the time you did, and I hope y'all had fun. My kid arrived home midday on Thursday. It has been wonderful having him around.

Thanks. We did have fun and wound up having him here for almost ten days instead of the four as we had originally expected. Good family time. And now off to the airport to send him back.

Glad to hear it. Alas, we just had Thurs through Sat, and our family who arrived on Wednesday left at the crack of dawn on Friday, so the visit was fun, even if brief. Added treat - the whole high school gang was here on Saturday.

DS's classes for Mon (the 19), Tues and Wednesday kept getting canceled one by one so suddenly he was free on Friday the 16th when the last cancellation was announced. We lost on the ticket, but gained five days of him for a total of 10, but I do agree with you that it's deserving of a rant - especially for those kids with previously scheduled travel plans as ours had to be because they book up at least a month in advance (train and bus first because they are the least expensive). Or for those kids traveling cross country or those staying on campus. It would be better for all if the administration just acknowledged what is going on and gives the full week off as they do with spring break.

[Anonymous]

Why is that worthy of a rant? First, not all or even most, professors cancel, so why make it a college level policy? Your kid's did. Oh well.

They don't need a full week off and in 2-3 weeks, they will be home for a month. If some profs do cancel and your kid stays an extra weekend than planned, who cares enough to rant?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why is that worthy of a rant? First, not all or even most, professors cancel, so why make it a college level policy? Your kid's did. Oh well.

They don't need a full week off and in 2-3 weeks, they will be home for a month. If some profs do cancel and your kid stays an extra weekend than planned, who cares enough to rant?

I am the ranter:

1. Who said anything about a full week? I was just talking about Wednesday. My kid flew back east on Thurs AM, arriving at noon. (I agree with you about the full week - it is silly.)

2. Who said anything about college policy or anything grand like that?

All I want is that if you are going to cancel, please don't wait until the last minute to announce it. Give the out-of-state families a fighting chance.

[Anonymous]

To the poster who says Federal employees often get much more than 59 minutes off in advance of holidays....this has NEVER happened in my agency, where I have been employed for more than 20 years. If we want to take an extra hour, we must use vacation time.

SO, try to refrain from using your family's experiences as the universal reference point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is that worthy of a rant? First, not all or even most, professors cancel, so why make it a college level policy? Your kid's did. Oh well.

They don't need a full week off and in 2-3 weeks, they will be home for a month. If some profs do cancel and your kid stays an extra weekend than planned, who cares enough to rant?

I am the ranter:

1. Who said anything about a full week? I was just talking about Wednesday. My kid flew back east on Thurs AM, arriving at noon. (I agree with you about the full week - it is silly.)

2. Who said anything about college policy or anything grand like that?

All I want is that if you are going to cancel, please don't wait until the last minute to announce it. Give the out-of-state families a fighting chance.

Good Lord you are annoying with these numbered responses that ignore any post but yours. a couple of people did say the things mentioned. Just because you didn't doesn't mean the thread didn't go that way

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To the poster who says Federal employees often get much more than 59 minutes off in advance of holidays....this has NEVER happened in my agency, where I have been employed for more than 20 years. If we want to take an extra hour, we must use vacation time.

SO, try to refrain from using your family's experiences as the universal reference point.

I’m sorry it doesn’t happen in your agency. But in some agencies it does happen. Often. My reference point is only my own, but the fact that many feds get early release for 2 or 3 hours of time is...fact.